Point & Shoot : Moving

Jack | Friday | 1:38 pm

The removalists came on Friday. Jack was facinated with the enormous moving truck and men. He watched their every move, asked lots of questions and at one stage wanted to be packed in a box and go on the truck too!

It was a big day, pretty emotional for everyone. It was a a happy day for me, it represents all the effort we've put into trying to get back home for the last twelve months. For the kids though it was a little harder. Brock understands that it means we'll be back home soon, but he's feeling a little bit lost I think, a little bit out of sorts. Jack, even though he watched the entire move, still didn't understand where his beds were and was not impressed at all when his ride on cars went too.

We are all excitedly counting down though and that is keeping the kids informed. They are both aware that it's only 5 more sleeps until we go on the plane, see Daddy and get home. Between you and me I think they are most excited about going on the plane.

Cupcake Week III

I’m sitting in my mum’s lounge room waiting for the removalists to arrive. Today is moving day! There are a few things for them to pick up here and then the rest of our stuff is in storage. So, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to update you on how the rest of Cupcake Week went.

Cupcake Week was a huge success and really went out with a bang last Friday. All 5 flavours were sold out by 11am! Not a bad effort hey? Last week was definitely my biggest baking week yet, I baked 300 cupcakes, including the fundraising cupcakes and 4 other orders. Wow, I’m pretty proud of my self for pulling that off.

Here’s a few photo’s of Friday’s flavours.

Dulce De Leche - brown sugar cake topped with caramel buttercream and drizzled with dulce de leche caramel sauce.

Suddenly Domestic

Well we're all moved in and mostly unpacked. Since moving in I've got this urge to do different domestic things, very strange for me as I'm not usually like that. I didn't even "nest" when I was pregnant with the boys.

Anyway, so today was an adventure in washing machine cleaning. When I first opened our front loader after the move, I was just about blown away by the smell. It was horrible, mildew cross with a stagnant water smell..ewwwwww gross! I decided to do an empty cycle to rid the machine of it's odor. I thought it was gone but alas the first load I did came out smelling awful.

Now I'm not the biggest fan of front loaders, I don't think they wash as well as a top loader and they seem to be more rough on the clothes too. So naturally a little voice inside my head whispered "new machine, you will have to get a new machine". As nice an idea as that was, it wasn't going to happen so I googled.... Ahh google, really what did people do before google?

5 mins later I had the answer, detergent build up. Apparently all machines get a build up of detergent, especially when you wash with cold water (which I always do). Apparently you should "clean" your machine every couple of months? I must have wagged that lesson in Susie Homemaker class.

Anyhow, after a "clean" my machine looks all shiny and new and even better it doesn't smell. The proof will be in the pudding, when I get my first load of washing out. But if, like me, you wagged that lesson, here's how you "clean" your washing machine.

Front Loader Put two cups of vinegar into the drum of the machine. Then add a quarter of a cup of Bi-carb Soda to the powder tray. Start your machine on a wash cycle, make sure the temp is at it's hottest. Give the machine a couple of seconds to wash the Bi-carb out of the tray then quickly open the tray again and add another cup of vinegar. Shut the tray up and let the machine do the rest.

For a bit of fun shine a torch through the door and have a look at all the cruddy bits floating in the water....EWWW

Top Loader Turn your machine onto a wash cycle with hot water only. Make sure the water level is at it's highest. While the tub is filling, add in a half a cup of Bi-carb Soda and three cups of vinegar. Let the machine do the rest.

If your washing machine has an agitator, you might like to pause the cycle once it's finished filling and give the agitator and all the crevices around it a little scrub with an old toothbrush.

The best thing about this method, is it's green! No harsh bleaches or other chemicals going down the drain, just good old vinegar and water. To make it even greener, catch the rinse water in a bucket and water you garden with it!

So there you go, just a little tip from me to you. Happy Washing.

PS The first load of washing came out beautifully, no smells at all. Yay for green cleaning!

Moving Again

Yes, we're at it again. Through the haze of a vile gastro bug we managed to find ourselves a new place to live. Finally, we're moving forward again, instead of standing still.

So yesterday all our furniture was delivered. We've got power, gas and the phone all connected, but alas no internet for a week. BAH don't they realise I need the www like I need air?? Anyway, suffice to say I'll be a bit quiet for the next week.

I did manage to get my memorial request into Carly and Sam last week, and the result was stunning. My little angel's memorial was overwhelmingly touching. You can see it here.

Naughty Me

I can't believe it's been over a week since I blogged! Naughty me!

Well I guess there has been lots of things. We've been super busy with real estate agents, cleaners etc trying to get our old house in Tassie ready for a tenant.

Today, finally, after almost a month, we've managed to rent the house out. The new tenant has signed her lease today and moves in tomorrow. This is all very exciting as it means we are now financially able to move forward and find a new home here in the sunshine state. We'll be renting to start with but we'll re-evaluate in 6 months time.

I am so excited at the thought of having our own space again. Don't get me wrong, I love my Mum but it's been a close quarters for the last month. I'm looking forward to just being able to do what I want. I think the kids aren't quite relaxed either because there's 'stuff' just hanging around that they can't touch, but really really want to. LOL

So the search is on to find a new abode.

Moving is hard work!

Well we are finally back in the sunshine state. My husband moved back to start work over 4 weeks ago and the boys and I joined him late last week. We are currently staying with my mother until we can find ourselves a suitable place to live.

It's amazing how hectic things have been, but the kids have settled in quite well already. The only bone of contention is Jack is not impressed with his new ride. Clearly the cheap umbrella stroller that his big brother loved is not up to Jack's standards. While he's usually happy to sit in a pram for a few good hours of shopping, something about this stroller has turned him into a typical male, he now hates shopping!

So my mission for this week is to find, what will be his fourth pram. Now finding a good pram isn't hard, but finding one that doesn't break the bank, well that's not quite as easy.

I had left our great pram in the boot of our car and thought that it would arrive sometime next week along with the car, however the transport company had other ideas. They decided they wouldn't transport the car with the pram in it, so my mother-in-law had to go and retrieve it. So our normal pram is stuck in Tassie, without a baby to use it. The cost of a courier costing almost as much as a new pram, so we're thinking we'll sell it on ebay and buy another.


This is the pram we had down south. It is a great pram. I love that I could have Jack facing the fron or facing me. It also had a huge shopping basket and a nice big hood. The only thing that annoyed me was the width of the back wheels. So if I can find some thing like that I'll be happy.